"Explore Chinese University Museums" Exhibition

The Confucius Institute at UNSW Australia held the “Explore Chinese University Museums” Exhibition.

20th August 2014

From 20to 25 August 2014, UNSW Australia hosted the “Explore Chinese University Museums”, an exhibition brought to Sydney by the Confucius Institute at UNSW and the National Educational Alliance of University and College Museums.

On the afternoon of August 20, the opening ceremony of the exhibition was held at the Red Centre gallery and hosted by A/Prof Junfang Xi, Chinese Director at the UNSW Confucius Institute. The audience was first treated to performances by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Folk Music Ensemble, followed by a variety of guest speakers including Fiona Docherty, Pro-Vice-Chancellor UNSW (International), who recounted the Confucius Institute at UNSW’s development and progress, Professor Ji Kaifeng, President Assistant Shanghai Jiao Tong University and representative of the National Educational Alliance of University and College Museums, Professor Xiaojia Wang, the Consul of Education in the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney, and A/Prof. Jon von Kowallis from the Chinese Studies department at UNSW who gave a speech in Chinese and English emphasising the importance of Chinese museums in disseminating cultural knowledge.

Finally, Langlang Jiang, Vice-Secretary of the National Educational Alliance of University and College Museums and head of Peking University’s Party Publicity Department, Yonghua Hu, head of Wuhan University’s Party Publicity Department, and Lin Yuanwang, Deputy-Director of Culture at Shanghai Jiao Tong University presented the Confucius Institute at UNSW, Art and Design Faculty at UNSW and the International Department at UNSW with three copies of the Educational Alliance photo album “Entering University Museums”.

At this exhibition there were ten separate sections created in accordance with the regions of various universities, such as “History of the Capital”, “A Dream Returning to the Jewel Above the Sea”, “Golden Poem Hill” and “Travels through the Snow, Forests, Plains and Seas of the North Country” etc. Each part of the exhibition included a number of universities, with bronze ware, calligraphy, paintings, national costumes and folk custom items from 49 universities displayed.

This is also the first time that the Chinese Universities have collectively ventured overseas, promoting cultural exchange and establishing another platform for spreading knowledge about Chinese traditions and customs.

UNSW Art and Design Professor Fang Xu and visiting fellow Chun Li designed the exhibition setting. Their design adopted a fusion of East-West technique, featuring 8 large, vertical publicity banners which added a significant amount of colour and character to the exhibition.